Memories
by Talking like a Lion
Summary: Human memories tend to yellow and wither away with age, but the Argo II refuses to let that happen. After Percy and Annabeth fall into Tartarus, the crew takes it upon themselves to remember the best and worst moments of history's greatest heroes.
1. Chapter 1

It was as if the ground had been pulled out under the feet of what was remaining of the seven. You would think that with what all these five teenagers had gone through, they would have more resilience to these situations. However, it wasn't everyday that your best friends got sucked into Hell.

The worst part was that they really didn't know what to do. Percy was the one that had that quality, the ability to draw everyone in the room toward you and capture their attention. Annabeth was the strategic force that turned their passion into solid ideas and strategies. Without them, the crew was…lost.

More than anything, though, they exuded hope. That they had survived so long and had endured so much together without completely falling apart.

As the remaining demigods slouched around the deck in various shades of misery, Nico DiAngelo was, shockingly, the one that spoke up first. "I may not have been part of the crew very long, but here's what I think we should do: Even though we need to keep moving forward to Epirus and coming up with a plan to defeat Gaea, we should have one day to take time to remember Percy and Annabeth. They may be the strongest demigods I have ever met, but I'm scared that if they don't…return, that we'll forget the parts of them that we love the best," he said, his words enunciated with the military-like practiced precision.

Leo was the first to respond after moments of torturous silence. " I think that's a great idea. I only met Percy within the past week, there's so much that I don't know about him. And I may have killed him," with that his voice broke and he tipped his head down, the guilt swelling up and encompassing his entire body.

Nico looked appreciatively at Leo for supporting his idea. "Great, so we can sleep on it and choose a few key memories of Percy and Annabeth that defined them, who they were, what they stood for, or, how they loved each other."

With that statement, the crew dispersed, attempts at stifling tears being heard throughout the night.

The only person that remained was Nico, wondering how everything had gotten so terrible screwed up.

**A/N. So, that was the first chapter of Memories. Thank you so much for reading; it means a lot. I'm sorry that it was so short; hopefully the next ones will be longer. If any of you have a memory that you would like to be shared, please review or P.M. I have a vague idea of what I want, but any suggestion would be great. Please leave a review with constructive criticism, comments, or any questions you may have. **


	2. Nico and a surprise visit

The group converged early the next morning. The sun looked like a fiery ball, tinging the clouds a delicate shade of pink, the waves shimmering and reflecting off of the dawn light.

However, the picturesque scene was a jarring contrast to the frayed emotions of the crew onboard the Argo II. Draped in oversized sweatshirts with puffy, red eyes, the teens' emotional state was perfectly reflected in their appearance.

As the demigods lounged on the living room-type space on the deck, Nico cleared his throat and pronounced, "Since this whole thing was my idea, I guess I'll go first." A murmur of agreement rippled throughout the listening teenagers.

Just as he was about to begin, an Iris message solidified in front of Nico's face. In the window of a familiar scene, Chiron sat in his wheelchair form, looking anxious.

Without any form of greeting, he started speaking "My young demigods, how are you? We haven't heard any news from you for a great deal of time and the campers and I have been praying to the gods for your safety. Now, where are Percy and Annabeth?" he questioned, a frown beginning to form across his features.

As serious as Leo knew the situation was, he couldn't help it. He really didn't want to have to disappoint Chiron like that. So, he did the only thing possible, he drew his finger to his nose lightning-quick and shrieked "Not it!"

The other demigods quickly followed suit, even, surprisingly, Nico. Hazel, having not idea what the others were doing was the only one left that didn't have her finger on her nose. As Frank gently explained to her the whole point of "Not it" her face crumpled at the though of what she had to do.

Chiron, now thoroughly concerned, patiently waited for Hazel to explain what had happened. Twirling a piece of hair around her finger she quietly said, "Well, my name's Hazel and I am from the Roman camp. I went with Percy Jackson a few weeks ago to unleash Thanatos". To this, Chiron remained unperturbed "It is lovely to meet you, Hazel, although not under the most pleasant circumstances it seems," he replied to her stuttered greeting.

Somehow mustering up the courage to tell the centaur in front of her what had happened to his favorite campers, Hazel, quietly and quickly told the tale of Percy and Annabeth, starting when she had first met Percy Jackson. Chiron seemed unsurprised by the tale of Percy's bravery at the beginning of her story, bemused by her apparent admiration of his young prodigy, yet confused as to where Percy and Annabeth were now.

When she reached the part where Annabeth had been yanked by the string around her ankle, her voice broke and she had to temporarily bury her face in her lap while Frank soothingly rubbed her back. She let Nico take over for her, as he had been the one that had last spoken to Percy. All those surrounding Nico listened raptly to the horrifying tale that sent goose bumps down their spines. With a muffled sob, Piper said "Oh gods, I'm being such an Aphrodite kid here, but that is so sweet that he would take the fall for her." Everyone, though baffled at Piper's uncharacteristic outburst, was waiting for Chiron to say something.

With his voice seemingly lost in past memories, Chiron said, "It was unwise of me to think that Percy and Annabeth had already crossed the most difficult section of their lives. We can only pray that they will be returned to us once again. At least they are their together, sometimes, I think that they are the only thing keeping the other from going insane," voice filled with anguish and reopened scars.

Jumping at the sudden silence, Nico remembered the point of the day, and quickly explained the plan of what they were going to do to Chiron. "I think that sounds like a terrific idea, there are so many untold stories about those two that few know about. Would you like me to ask a few of the campers that knew Percy and Annabeth well to contribute a memory?" he asked kindly, noting the emotional sensitivity of the half-god teenagers before him.

All of them nodded vigorously while Jason said, "I think that sounds like an amazing idea. There is so much that I don't know about both of them that only their friends would know"

"Very well then, how about I fetch Rachel, Travis, Katie, Clarisse, Grover, and Thalia, who is stopping by camp with the Hunters of Artemis? Chiron asked, naming a group who knew the couple well of the top of his head.

All agreed, except for a few (note: many) objections to Clarisse coming. Although the complaints were in good intentions, Chiron knew how much Clarisse honestly cared about them, and vice versa.

A few minutes later, the Camp Half-blood demigods gathered in a semi-circle as to see the Iris message more clearly. As Jason explained to them what had happened to Percy and Annabeth yet again (alas, he had lost at "Not it," getting beat by Chiron) faces paled and the friends of the famous demigods shed many tears. Once the initial shock had passed, the point of the day was explained and the campers sitting with Chiron agreed to think of a memory that they wanted to share with Percy and Annabeth.

Finally, after an extremely long delay, Nico began to share his favorite memory of Percy and Annabeth.

"So, at this time, I was ten years old and had no idea what a demigod was, let alone that I was a demigod. I was at a private school with… my sister, Bianca, who died on a quest later that year." Nico said, his voice thick with emotion. Those who had not known what happened to Bianca gasped with sympathy. After recomposing himself, Nico continued:

"That night there was a dance at the school. Coincidentally, it was also the night that the monster/ principal tried to get my sister and I. Even before we had gotten kidnapped, I had seen Percy and Annabeth at the dance, even though they didn't attend the school. They were forced to dance together by Thalia, who was dancing with Grover." At this, Grover and Thalia shared an amused glance; they had been dying of laughter watching the couple that had obviously had feeling for one another, even if neither of them had realized it.

"Just then, Dr. Thorn had started to drag Bianca and I away. Annabeth wasn't there anymore, but Percy saw. I could see that he had been told not to go without backup, but his natural "I have to be the hero" instinct got the better of him and he started to follow us. That was the essence of Percy, not being the hero because he wanted the fame and glory, but because he honestly wanted to help us.

After a lot of confusion, I've blocked out a lot of that night, I only have bits and pieces, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia were fighting and Annabeth fell off the side of a cliff." Nico said, stopping to catch his breath. Everyone was paying close attention, wondering what had happened to Annabeth and what Percy was going to do. After seeing the suspense on other's faces he continued.

"That was a really tough decision for Percy, he had a choice: he could either jump over the side and look for Annabeth, even though she was most likely gone, or, stay with Grover and Thalia and help them. Well, long story short, he chose to stay. Though I'll never forget the determination that was on his face to get Annabeth back.

I honestly tortured Percy later that night asking whether Annabeth was his girlfriend and, even worse, if Annabeth was a daughter of Athena, then why had she fallen off the cliff? Percy was probably ready to throw me in a meat-flavored sack and feed me to Artemis' wolves, but he answered my questions in barely controlled anger.

Either way, that was my favorite memory of them because, even then, you could see how brave each of them were and how much they cared about each other. That was also my very first memory of them, and it really left a big impression on me. I miss them, they're far too good people to have endured the things they have," Nico finished his story to the thoughtful glances of everyone else around him. Feeling awkward by the deafening silence around him he finally spoke "Well, who's going next?"


	3. Leo

Leo had an inner war with himself on whether he wanted to go next. He reasoned that everybody would be so busy digesting Nico's memory that the spotlight wouldn't be pinned so directly on him.

Finally raising his voice, he said " I mean I guess if no one else wants to I'll, you know, go next," his voice ringing across the silent crowd. Piper nodded in agreement and said "I think that would be really sweet, Leo," her voice soothing him instantly. He knew that it was her charmspeak that was having this effect on him, but he let it go and allowed the effects of Aphrodite blood running in his friend's veins to calm his nerves.

"So, in the Hephaestus cabin, they keep records of videos that have been taken at Camp Half-Blood over the years. At this point, I knew literally nothing about Percy Jackson except for that a. Annabeth was his best friend and girlfriend and b. that he was an undeniable hero. I wanted to do some research on why this kid was so incredibly powerful.

While I was going through various pranks that were recorded by the Stolls, I came across an old video entitled ' Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase (a.k.a Percabeth): Our OTP by, Travis and Connor Stoll,'"

At this, the Stoll brothers laughed loudly, obviously remembering shooting the childish yet hilarious video.

"I was interested immediately so I clicked on it to see exactly what the video was," he said, continuing his story. "Honestly, I'd be pretty terrible at trying to explain the video, so I think that I'll just play it for you.'

Obviously prepared, he pulled out some sort of advanced laptop and, with a few clicks, pulled up the old video. Pressing play, everybody paid close attention as the dark screen lightened to reveal the mischievous smiles of Travis and Connor.

"Hello Demigod friends! We are Travis and Connor and today we are going to show you are favorite couple, at the moment-," Travis began, only to be cut off by Connor who cheekily cut in "Our favorite couple besides Travis and Katie Gardener, of course," causing Travis to push his brother muttering something along the lines of "who even told you about that?"

Listening to Connor's side comment, everyone glanced at Travis and Katie, who had been dating for a few months. Both were laughing hysterically as Travis attempted to shoot Connor with one of Katie's hair elastics in mock-anger. Turning back to the movie, everybody smiled at the continuation of Travis's comical introduction.

"Moving on from that COMPLETELY UNTRUE statement, I would like to continue on with my summary of our OTP, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase, otherwise known to the world as Percabeth. These two have already been on a quest together, but we all know it's going to take Percy until, like, his sixteenth birthday after they've already almost died and Annie's still gonna have to make the first move for them to start going out," Travis said, with his smirk still intact.

This statement made all the Camp Half-Blood veterans to laugh. When asked to explain, Grover gasped out "He literally described the exact situation of when they got together, almost word for word."

After the final tears of mirth had run down the teen's faces, Leo hit play yet again from the paused video to finally get to the actual subject.

"Without further ado, however, we would like to show all of our faithful viewers that Percabeth is just as real as unicorns," Travis closed with a wink.

The scene was by the lake at camp on a beautiful summery day. Percy and Annabeth were sitting by the end of the dock with their feet dangling over the edge, casually eating sandwiches and blue cookies and sipping on juice boxes. As the camera zoomed in, you could see the amusement on their faces as they bantered back and forth.

Suddenly, Percy threw a chunk of his sandwich in her hair, which caused her to splash him lightly with water. Suddenly, there was a full out sand-war, where you could hardly see them they were throwing handfuls of light-colored sand at each other's faces.

Quickly, Annabeth leapt onto Percy's back, latching her ankles around his waist in a desperate attempt to hang on. In his haste to get her off of him he slipped off the side of the dock and both plummeted into the salty water, leaving nothing but a cascade of white foam behind.

They both rose up out of the water simultaneously, Annabeth soaking wet and gasping for air. You would wonder how they both came up at the same time until you noticed that her arms were wrapped around his neck and both looked fairly uncomfortable.

Connor's voice came back in over the image of the two of them "This is ridiculous, come on, Percy, Just kiss her already. Oh my gods, those two have so much tension between them I can't even watch! Oh, wait, yes I can."

Just as it looked like Percy was about to kiss her, their heads were almost touching, when he stretched out his arm, tagged her on the shoulder, shrieked "Tag!" and darted away from the intimidating blonde.

She immediately hopped back up onto the dock and started bolting after him, drops of water flying everywhere. The scene blacked out on them running around and giggling on small children.

"Well, there you have it, folks, the one and only Percabeth in action. And just for the record, we totally called that they would be a thing before anybody else did so, ha. Also, I also predict Tratie so I dunno, maybe I'm like 1% Aphrodite kid," Connor finished as the video went dark and ended.

Giving everyone a moment to recover from the hilarity of the video, Leo waited to talk until everybody's giggles had subsided.

"I chose this as my favorite memory because, at the time that I saw this, Annabeth was like a military general. Very strict and uptight and if you even said the name Percy, she would shoot you a death glare to rival Hades'. When she was with Percy in the video, she seemed so carefree and fun. I also was amazed by how young they were. Even at that age, they had this amazing connection that really told a lot about their character, so that is why this is my absolute favorite memory of them.

Silence ensued as people pondered Leo's statement (and whether there was a chance Connor had Aphrodite blood in him.) After a few moments, Leo nervously said "Well, who's going next?"


	4. Frank

Hey guys! Sorry about the false alarm with my last update. The sample of a story that was on the last update is not going to be looked at until Memories is totally finished. I haven't received a lot of feedback so please take the time to tell me what you think of the sample. There is a special shout out to: TheShadow207, Mama'sBrokenHeart99, , Skye222, and Major Face palm for all their support, it means the world to me. There will soon be a poll up on my profile for who you would like to go next. I was almost going to do Thalia for this chapter, but decided against it. Also, at the bottom I am going to list the playlist that I made for this story. It's just what I think works well. Now I'm super pumped for this chapter!

"I think that I will," Frank said nervously whilst praying to every god he knew that nobody had heard him.

Much to his dismay, however, Hazel heard and said brightly "Oh, Frank, you should go!" her voice infused with the happiness of not having to go next.

Everybody turned to him expectantly and he ran a hand through his hair nervously before starting "So, my memory is from when I was on a quest with Percy. A few hours before, Percy had swallowed Gorgon blood to help him remember his life before. That night, everyone was asleep except for Percy and I.

He was starting to remember everything about camp and Annabeth. I t helped him to say things out loud, so he was telling me everything that popped into his brain. I ended up making a voice recording of him so that he could have it. So, I think that I'm going to play this recording for you."

Everybody nodded enthusiastically, prompting him to grab the small device that he had with him. Pressing the play button, the grainy voice of the gods' champion rang through the silent crowd.

"So, um, she has blonde hair, and it has curls in it, like a princess. She doesn't like to brush it though, so, like, a homeless princess. But she's still really pretty. She has tan skin, and kinda looks like your typical California girl, 'cept for her eyes. Her eyes are gray, almost black, but prettier.

She loves to read, but mostly she loves to design buildings. You know, I found that funny at first because she's such an active person. Her dream is to design something permanent. Something to last forever.

She seems like the type of person that would play piano, but she doesn't. She can fight really well, probably better than I can. But that's because she's so smart. Like, she knows all your secrets just by looking at you, which sorta freaked me out because I thought she could tell that I liked her and would beat me up for it.

We've been on a ton of quests together, and our first quests were with each other. And this satyr, his name was…Grover! Yes, he's my absolute best friend. I wonder where he is now. I miss talking to him. You know he was the best person to talk to about you problems. He just listened to them, and then he's either said something deep and philosophical or he's asked for food, or maybe your coffee.

Oh! Annabeth loved coffee. Only Starbucks though, not Dunkin Donuts. And you'd expect her to be the type of person that drank black coffee for some scientific reason, but she isn't. She likes 4 sugars and 2 creams in her hazelnut latte. I don't understand how she can drink it like that, it's ridiculously sweet, but she loves it.

I love her, I remember that much. I was going to tell her within the next six years, but I got taken away. I wonder how she is. What if she forgot about me? Or got a new boyfriend? I'd still be her best friend though, even if she has. I hope she doesn't. Wait, are you recording this?"

That was the end of the video. All were smiling, with small tears in their eyes. Grover looked like it has been his best friend talking to him in the flesh. Even Thalia looked thoughtful, her eyes glazing over as she thought about her memory.

"That is such a Percy line 'I was planning tot tell her in the next six years," like, seriously, he was insane about that stuff," laughed Conner, glad to see that Percy hadn't changed.

"I chose that as my memory because of the tone of Percy's voice. He was so fascinated by every little detail about her. Like how she liked her coffee was the secret to world peace. It really showed how much he cared about her. I never want to forget that," Frank said thoughtfully.

The group sat in silence for a few seconds before Frank began to become uncomfortable "so, who's going next?"


	5. Hazel

Hello, all of my fabulous readers! First of all, I owe you guys a huge apology. I haven't updated in a ridiculously long time. I had this insane writer's block and my schedule has been crazy, so I wasn't able to come up with anything that I was satisfied with. I am actually really excited for this upcoming chapter; I think it is a bit different than the other ones in the mood and tone. I owe a huge thank you to kittykatgurrl63 for inspiring me to get back to work. Review with feedback!

Hazel had already filled her quota of public speaking for the day, due to the fact that she had to tell a centuries old hero-trainer that his favorite students had fallen into Tartarus. Not a fun time.

However, when Frank looked at her with those big puppy-dog eyes, silently begging her to take the spotlight off of him, she just couldn't resist. Blame it on the too-nice-for-their-own-good gene. Which Hazel still didn't quite understand. How could somebody be too nice?

She silently raised her hand (because she wasn't saying a syllable more than she had to,) and waited for some form of acknowledgement from the other. Aforementioned recognition came in the form of Nico, who nodded at her encouragingly to start. Sucking a deep breath into her lungs, she began in a surprisingly confident voice, the likes of which the other demigods had never seen.

"Demigod dreams are the worst," she said to the agreement (and confusion) of the others. 'Well, they're pretty horrible for me, but Percy had the worst I have ever heard of.

I woke one night around 2 A.M to him screaming at the top of his lungs. I've always been an insomniac, so I could get around the camp at night easily. So, I decided that I would go over and see if I could do anything for him.

In his room, Percy was tangled in his sheets with his comforter lying a few feet away on the floor. I can still see the image in my head, it was human suffering in the purest form."

Hazel stopped for a moment to catch her breath (or maybe it was just a dramatic pause, nobody could really tell the difference anyways) before continuing. The demigods listened intently, trying to imagine their savior reduced to his nightmares.

"After awhile of trying to figure out what exactly to do, I realized that he was so deep in his dream that it would be impossible to wake him up. I sat on this little chair next to his bed and noticed a repetition to his shrieking. He was screaming Annabeth repeatedly. I have no idea what that dream was about even to this day. I never got the guts to ask. Annabeth was a part of Percy that he didn't have to share with anyone else at the Roman camp.

After maybe half an hour of his chant, which had decreased considerably in volume, I think that's why nobody else came over to see what was going on, Percy woke up.

He should have seemed drowsy or sleepy or showed some other symptom of sleep, but he looked wide-awake. Percy looked directly at me and said in the wisest most serious tones I'd ever heard him use 'To love is to destroy. And to be loved is to be the one destroyed.' I don't think that I will ever forget that. I've pondered over that statement repeatedly, but I can never seem to understand it."

Hazel wasn't quite finished yet, though. The others listened intently as Hazel started the second half of her memory. After stabilizing herself, the small girl spoke in a quieter tone, as if telling a deadly secret.

"A few nights ago I was on security watch, to monitor the cameras all around the ship. Annabeth was having a nightmare, and a pretty bad one, by the looks of it. Almost as if he had a sixth sense, Percy stumbled half-asleep into her room.

Of course, I knew this wasn't allowed, but at the time, I really couldn't have cared less. It was late, Annabeth was a mess, and I was exhausted.

Moving on, Percy crashed onto the bed next to her and rubbed her back, trying to wake her up. It was amazing how Percy seemed just as pained by her suffering as she was.

Eventually she woke up, with tears in her eyes, and buried her face into Percy's shoulder, hiding her blotchy complexion. Rocking her back and forth, he quietly sang a song that I later found out was called 'I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie. It's scary how accurate it has become for them, especially after the events of yesterday.

The reason I chose these memories for what I wanted remembered about the two of them is how different love was for them than it is for everybody else. Sometimes it can be toxic and it hurts, but it is simultaneously the best thing that has ever happened to either of them.

In the end, it's so much different than a silly, shallow Nicholas Sparks novel; it's a lot more powerful than that. So intensely powerful that they have nightmares about it."

Finally finished, Hazel waited with bated breath for someone to say something. Before the elusive "so who's going next?' could make an appearance, Katie Gardener spoke up saying "You're so right Hazel. I mean, before they were even dating, Percy had already given up godhood for her."

Those who had not known that tidbit of information looked incredulous, trying to absorb all of the information that was rapidly being distributed to them. After months of having the name "Percy" be taboo, Leo, Piper, and Jason were amazed on just how much the two had been through together, even though they hadn't even gotten halfway through the memories. And with that, the onslaught of recollections continued.

**All right, so that ways the newest installation of Memories. I am dying to see how you guys liked this chapter. It is personally one of my favorites. Definitely listen to the song "I Will Follow You into the Dark," it sums Percabeth perfectly. The first person that guesses (by review only) where the quote Percy said to Hazel comes from will get to pick which memory they want for a specific character. **


	6. Break 1

**I feel so bad; my updating has been horrible recently! Life has just been crazy, but I'm sorry to keep all of you lovely readers waiting! Thank you to all of the reviews that you fantastic people write, they mean so much to me. By the way, if anybody would be interested in beta-ing for me, I would be thrilled, P. M if you are interested!**

The teens decided to take a break after Hazel's story, there was only so emotions one could tolerate in a single sitting. All split up, going to find refuge somewhere on the ship or in camp Half-Blood. They all agreed to converge in half of an hour, when they had had enough time to get all of their scattered thoughts in order.

Piper

Piper slipped past the others and found her won personal little hiding space, a little balcony that she, and to some extent, Leo, knew about. She perched on the edge, her legs slipping through the wrought-iron rails. Pressing her closed eyelids against the cool metal, she felt the chill spread through her entire body.

Her kaleidoscope eyes flashed open suddenly, and an insane rage rushed through her like it never had before.

She whipped the petite chair that rested unsuspectingly next to her over the edge of the ship. Smacking satisfyingly against the picturesque waves, the chair was gone in an instant. But that was not nearly good enough for Piper. She started hurling whatever found its way into her hands haphazardly, completely disregarding the noise she was making.

Silent tears slid down her cheeks until they weren't silent anymore. She dropped onto the tiled floor, kneeling as if she was praying. The sobs shook the beauty queen's body as she beat her fists against the granite below her.

That's how Jason found her: screaming curses, crying, with her hands bloody from punching a mirror. Lovely, just how you wanted your boyfriend to find you. Sigh

He gently knelt next to her, as if approaching a wounded animal. "Pipes?" he whispered softly, stretching his hand out tentatively. She slid closer to him, allowing his arms to wrap protectively around her. She sobbed into his chest, turning his t-shirt into a wet mess.

She finally spoke, words gravelly and scratchy from her incessant crying. "It isn't fair, Jason. It's so unfair. They're better people than I'm ever going to be in a thousand lifetimes, and I'm here with you and they're out there, possibly dead. The fates are so twisted. It isn't noble, it's not heroic to triumph what they've triumphed, it's disgusting. I feel sick knowing what they have had to go through, and for what? The entertainment of the Gods? Well, it isn't funny, this isn't some fictitious novel, it's real and it **hurts**, it hurts so flipping bad." She gasped, her blotchy skin and shaky body punctuating her words.

Jason listened patiently to Piper's tirade, wishing he could aid the suffering that seemed to become the only thing he knew these days. He pressed his lips to her knuckles before he spoke, trying to convey his thoughts into actions.

"Piper, don't apologize for being happy when Percy and Annabeth might not be, that's not helping them or you or anyone else on this boat. The fates are cruel, but we both know that Percy and Annabeth will be immortalized forever, throughout the centuries. Is that fair payment for what they have suffered? Not a chance, but its something. And they weren't perfect, Pipes, they just weren't. We like to think of them that way because it is a form of self-punishment for letting them fall. But sometimes they hurt people, because they are human. That's the point of today, to remind ourselves that the people we love are never going to be perfectly perfect.

And truth be told? I am so ridiculously envious of Percy Jackson, despite the hell he has gone through, quite literally. And I am wicked for feeling happy that I am now in charge of the boat, as much as I try to vanquish it, I never will."

Piper listened intently, still sprawled on the floor with Jason, confessions dripping into the air, making it thicker and harder to breathe. She had assumed, along with everyone else, that Jason was the perfect golden boy, flawless in every way.

However, she liked this new Jason so much better. In the twilight, the shadows of his face stood out more prominently than usual, his scar seeming more dangerous. She loved this boy, this broken mess with the perfect exterior. They were so alike and yet so different. They both reveled in their faults, using their pain as a weapon upon themselves, holding it in until they lashed out in private, the poison of their secrets seeping into them. And yet they were different, in terms of their personalities. But as they say, opposites attract, though never believed it until they had met.

There they were shaking and crying while clinging to the other, the super boy and beauty queen, or the envious sinner and masochistic rich girl, either worked, really.

**A/N Well that was… unexpected. I was planning on just doing a few sentences on each character, but this just took on a life of its own. So you, my pretties, have a choice. Either I can continue to do these break periods for each character, or I can skip the others and continue with the main plot, so give me your thoughts. Also, what did you think of this? I'm very undecided on whether I like it or not. As always R & R!**


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